OpenLink Software Releases Open Source AJAX Framework

JavaScriptSearch
Wednesday, August 9, 2006; 07:46 AM

Software developer Open Link released v.1.0 of their OpenLink AJAX Toolkit (OAT) web development framework.  The toolkit is licensed under the GPL license and is freely available for download.  The website at www.openlinksw.com/oat/ hosts showcases, detailed documentation, and downloads.

OAT provides virtually all the tool a programmer needs to create a rich user interface, Web 2.0 web applicaiton.  OAT consists of more than 30 JavaScript files, each providing distinct functionality.  For example, ajax.js governs routines for asynchronous xml calls, while animation.js enables developers to control opacity, size and position of elements with a couple simple lines of code.

OAT allows the creation of tables, chart vizualizations, menus, edit-in-place text, special effects, forms, input validation routines, map mashups, AJAX database connectivity, and more.  All of these are illustrated with working examples at the OAT website -- an impressive resource in itself.  The documentation is built as a JavaScript application with a draggable and scrollable menu.

OAT is compatible with all major browsers: IE6, Firefox, Safari, and Opera. 

The list of functionalities this new framework provides is comparable to those of staple AJAX toolkits like Dojo and Prototype; a good twist is the separation of the various functions into distinct JavaScript libraries.  This should allow for bandwidth savings when creating a web application. The only thing that will determine whether OAT is headed for a bright future is the rate of adoption by developers.

OAT's compatibity matrix.